Creighton Abrams
Gen. Creighton W. Abrams, Commander, 37th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division, Third Army
born Sep 15, 1914 Springfield, Massachusetts
died Sep 4, 1974 Ft. Myer, Virginia
Creighton Abrams is the only one of My Heroes that I have not met personally. After WWII he eventually became commander of all US forces in Vietnam in 1968 and Army Chief of Staff in 1972. The US Army’s main battle tank M1 Abrams is named after him. But his greatest heroics to my mind, which earned him two Distinguished Service Crosses, were his days as a Lt. Col. in the 4th Armored Division in WWII.
Read the definitive biography by Dr. Lewis “Bob” Sorley called Thunderbolt. From the Battle of the Bulge to Vietnam and Beyond: General Creighton Abrams and the Army of His Times. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992.
See an edited version of General Abrams speech in early 1970’s and his funeral at Arlington National Cemetery in 1974 (1min, 40 sec.)